July 28 public hearings to consider adopting new and increased fees for individual services
The Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority and Eagle River Water & Sanitation District boards of directors will consider new and increased fees during their July 28 board meetings at 8:30 and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
The proposed new fees are for seven different labor-intensive one-time services provided directly to individual customers, such as transfer-of-service, account reactivation, and new construction applications. With no current fees, the direct and indirect costs associated with the work to review and process such requests is distributed across all customers, rather than the individual account requesting the service.
The proposed new fees cover services that customers need within a defined timeframe which causes staff to prioritize the work and leaves limited hours available to complete tasks that benefit all customers. Such work has required hiring additional staff, so fee revenue collected would recover associated costs and lessen the cost of added personnel.
The district and authority generally serve properties from East Vail through Cordillera (plus Minturn for wastewater services only). The proposed fees would apply to all accounts within the service areas and would only be assessed when such individual services are requested.
The boards will also consider increasing the cost of seven existing fees that have been the same since about 2018 to recoup associated costs. The proposed new and increased fees include:
| Fee Type | Current Fee | Proposed Fee |
| Delinquent/Non-Compliance Turn off Service | $100 | $150 |
| Fire Hydrant Meter Relocation | $168 | $200 |
| Lien Fee for Unpaid Charges | $200 | $250 |
| Meter Inspection and Reinspection | $168 | $200 |
| Returned Check | $25 | $50 |
| Service and Inspection Calls | $84 | $200 |
| Turn On/Off Service | $84 | $100 |
| Transfer of Service | N/A | $145 |
| Account Reactivation | N/A | $100 |
| New Construction Application | N/A | $150 |
| Enforcement of Encroachments | N/A | $450 |
| Variances | N/A | $450 |
| Water Rights Dedication | N/A | $1675 |
| Mainline Extension | N/A | $1950 |
The public hearings are the first item on the respective agenda for this week’s board meetings. The staff memo and proposed fee resolution are available online in the board packet for the authority and district. Both board meetings are held at the ERWSD office at 846 Forest Road in Vail and are open to the public.
If approved, the new and increased fees would be effective Aug. 1. All fees will be further reviewed as part of the annual budget process this fall. Any further changes would be proposed for the authority and district 2023 budgets to take effect next year.
For more information, contact district customer service at 970-477-5451.
